JPS announces full restoration but for one Port Esquivel business

While all parishes were restored, one business customer in Port Esquivel, southwest St. Catherine, remains without power due to difficult access through swampy terrain. JPS noted it is working on rerouting the line supplying this facility west of Old Harbour town to restore service as soon as possible.

JPS President & CEO, Hugh Grant, expressed his satisfaction with the early restoration efforts, emphasizing that the company met its tight timeline without any safety incidents.

“I am very happy that we were able to restore our customers ahead of the tight timeline we set for ourselves, and without any safety incident,” said Grant. “I am particularly encouraged by the improvements in our stakeholder engagement and outreach during this restoration process."

He also noted significant improvements in stakeholder engagement during this process, with close collaboration with the Ministry of Energy, the Office of Utilities Regulation (OUR), municipalities, Members of Parliament, and other community representatives to facilitate a swift and safe restoration.

Though damage from Tropical Storm Rafael has been significantly devastating, this is seen as an improvement in light of heavy criticism of the light and power company in the wake of Hurricane Beryl in July.

Grant thanked customers for their patience, acknowledging the inconvenience caused by power outages. Following the restoration, JPS has deactivated its Incident Command Center and returned to normal operations, continuing to address customer reports and outages unrelated to the storm.

The company also highlighted its commitment to applying lessons learned from major weather events to improve service in the future.